This pristine view is courtesy of the Cloisters Museum. Located in northern Manhattan, this branch of the Metropolitan Museum holds a collection of thousands of artworks and artifacts from medieval Europe. The museum hybridizes modern structures with pieces of five abbeys sent from Europe in the 1930s. John D. Rockefeller […]

Lions guard the NY Public Library. When they first took up their posts over a hundred years ago, they were ridiculed as mealy-mouthed and complacent. The sculptors trimmed their marble manes because people complained they were too hairy. But today they are known as NY’s most lovable public sculptures. They […]

In my woods one of the first wildflowers is the violet, often blooming in late winter. They are gone from my forest for this year, but their distant cousins are thriving in my garden. They are one of the most popular plants for fall gardens, with their cheery flowers and […]

What seems many lifetimes ago I studied primates. I was fascinated by their societies, caring for each other in ways I saw reflected in my own family and friends. Since I started posting to Instagram this spring, suddenly I became part of an unimaginably large social group. I have been […]

Every season has a moment that defines its beginning. The change may not happen all at once, fall and winter colliding and wrestling back and forth. But if you look closely, there is an instant when the balance tips, and one turns to the other. The moment arrived this morning. […]

The iris is the national flower of France, with a history stretching back over a thousand years. In the Middle Ages it was tied to French kings, and stylized into the fleur-de-lis.The name comes from the many colors of the flowers, for the ancient Greek goddess Iris. Her flowing dress […]

I have always loved the insect chorus, a lullaby through an open window. Just as the sounds themselves fade as the year cools, each cricket voice slows. In 1897 the scientist Dolbear wrote an article called The Cricket As a Thermometer, setting out a complex formula where T is temperature, […]

My aunt was a nature photographer, and one of her cardinal rules was always shoot with the sun at your back. For photos she took of some of her wilder subjects- like me- this resulted in many squinting portraits as I struggled to smile with the sun burning its way […]

Nearly halfway through November, it is a strange time of year here. Most traces of autumn have faded, but winter has not yet arrived. Last night it dipped into the mid thirties, flirting with frost. So I spend spare time enjoying the final vestiges of the season, each day seeing […]